Sue Ellen Parkinson

Member Artist - Painter

"The surprise for me has been that in painting these icons, I’ve fallen in love with them and gained a new perspective on both Christianity and myself."

Sue Ellen Parkinson: Artist Statement

For the last few years I've been painting Christian Saints and mystics with the hope of discovering my own relationship to them. To the surprise of many of my secular friends, my walls are now covered with paintings of Christian icons. The surprise for me has been that in painting these icons, I’ve fallen in love with them and gained a new perspective on both Christianity and myself.

I’m particularly drawn to Mary Magdalene and images of the Sacred Feminine. For me Magdalene has become a symbol of all women who have been misrepresented and denied their appropriate authority in the world. It’s been healing to restore her identity to the wise and sovereign being that I believe she was. In so doing I feel more empowered myself.I am not a Christian nor a religious scholar yet my connection with these icons feels genuine. Painting has helped me to find entrance into what I can only call the Divine.

These icons have had millions upon millions of people praying to them. My sense is that those prayers have created a kind of current and that as I paint them I enter into a vast river of prayer. It is this world of inspiration that has suspended my own despair, and that I wish to share with others.

website: www.miracleofyourlife.com

Hours

January - March10am to 5pm

April - December:10am to 6pm, seven days a week.Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.